Big, Beautiful Lies: The Real Impact of Republican Policies
I was checking email this morning when I came across something that made me roll my eyes. On July 3rd, the Social Security Administration sent out a statement praising the passage of Trump’s “big beautiful bill” as “historic tax relief for seniors.”
This doesn’t just impact seniors, I’m 36 and on Social Security. On the third of every month, I receive $1300 because I’m physically disabled and unable to work. Contrary to what the administration is saying, this bill will make life exponentially harder for me and millions of Americans. As someone on Supplemental Security Income (SSI), I’m not allowed to make more than $2,000 a month or have savings, or I could lose the money I need to survive. On top of that, anyone on SSI isn’t allowed to get married because a potential spouse’s income would put me over the limit. Can you imagine having to choose between having your daily needs met or the person you love? Disabled people are forced to way below the poverty line and punished if we’re able to dig ourselves out.
Here’s a reality check: the bill that Republicans just passed is projected to kick at least 12 million people off their health insurance over the next decade. It’s easy for Republicans to tout tax relief when who they’re going after won’t even benefit from the alleged relief because they won’t be on the program anymore. Not only will this bill affect my insurance, it’s also going to cut an estimated $185 per month from Social Security checks. Trust me, it’s already a struggle to get by with the little amount I receive, not to mention the price of food and gas going up. This would only further compound the effects of the neglect and isolation I’m experiencing. By losing my insurance, the in-home care get four hours a day, six days a week will be gone. I’ll no longer have help to do normal tasks like bathing and getting dressed. As I’m typing this, a caregiver is out picking up food for me. Do “family values” conservatives care about this? If they did, they wouldn’t have ever proposed the legislation in the first place, let alone cheer its passage on the House floor.
Disabled people are treated like we’re invisible unless we’re part of a story that makes society feel good about itself; disabled people call that “inspiration porn.” This country has shown over and over again that we aren’t seen as fully human, we’re definitely not equal in the eyes of the world. The government can write all the big beautiful emails it wants, it may fool countless non-disabled people into cheering for the destruction of their own lives, but I am crystal clear. Any government that goes after the most vulnerable in its society, including stealing food out of children’s mouths, isn’t a government, that’s a regime. For people who claim to be “pro-life” (that’s a misnomer), they LOVE to profit off suffering and death. It’s time to get to work and make sure that Mike Johnson’s fear becomes a reality.
It’s all fun and games for billionaires to get another yacht from what is the biggest wealth transfer in American history; but I’m a real, live, breathing human being. This isn’t a game for me or the millions like me. Our lives will be changed, and unlike the beloved song from Wicked, not “for the better,” some of us won’t survive.
This makes me want to scream